SPEAK NOW: Reiss VS Britannia
by ButterfliesInYourTummy
Summary: In this tale, the lives of many people depends on the actions of an easily angered boy who poses as a female of royalty, and his intimidating bodyguard who doesn't really look his age. Cross-dressing!Eren & Knight!Levi go out to the Britannian Province on behalf of Reiss. But they never knew what they would have to endure. (see A/N in ch.1 for full summary & warnings for M-rating!)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Longer Summary: For many centuries, The Britannian Province &amp; Reiss Kingdom knew nothing about one another; having forgotten their past as their ancestors had split up due to different political &amp; religious views. On the Reiss Kingdom's side, things are going well &amp; the mission of obliterating the titans on its way. However, the story starts when the Stationary Guard notice the titans are beginning to swarm up on the Reiss Walls, becoming a problem for their small military force. This causes them to turn towards their new Queen, Historia, for guidance. But she was stuck &amp; with all else seeming lost, the fortunate discovery of the Britannian Province leads Historia to send forth a plea of help. However the neighboring kingdom wants an official union before calling one another allies- through marriage. Historia &amp; Ymir especially aren't very keen on the idea; or anyone else for that matter. But the intelligent blonde, Armin, has a plan that just might work, &amp; Eren is going to cross-dress. Wait- WHAT?**

**In this tale, the lives of many people depends on the actions of an easily angered boy who poses as a female of royalty, and his intimidating bodyguard who doesn't really look his age. This odd pair will have to manage fooling "matter of fact" and somewhat snobby prince named Lelouch, along with his suspicious bodyguard, Suzaku Kururugi. Levi will have to endure watching Eren be the toy and soon-to-be-wedded "wife" and Eren is going to have to work on his feminine skills. Will these two kingdoms be able to put aside their differences in order to defend the human race against the titans? Can Eren hold his ground pretending to be female? Or will Emperor Lelouch and Suzaku cause trouble for Eren, Levi, the Survey Corps, and the rest of the Reiss Kingdom; possibly leaving what they have left of their Military, their people and their walls to soon be overwhelmed by the titans?**

**WARNINGS: there is sexual content/tension, homosexuality, male x male, rape, torture, arranged marriage of convenience, cross-dressing and slut shaming! If you're okay with this, read on!**

* * *

From the top of Wall Maria, Eren looked down at what used to be the Shiganshina District, the town in which he lived when he was younger, before everything went to hell. The town was an outcrop, located on the south edge of Wall Maria and nothing from within the walls of it had changed. The houses that didn't survive the titan attack were crushed and destroyed with debris everywhere and even the big hole in the gate of the wall was still where it had always been, mocking him.

Eren sucked in a sharp, intimidated breath. Ever since that day, he promised himself that he would avenge his mother whom lost her life then, and that he would destroy all the titans. All of them. He'd cleanse them from this world, like a vaccine to a plague, no matter what it'd take.

His seemingly happy squad, after claiming they'd all share a piece of meat that Sasha stole, were now getting back to work, cleaning the canons and maning stations. It was stupid, but it made Eren happy enough. It'd meant they'd all return to each other's side once more for lunch; that they would all have a good laugh and...

The corners of Eren's mouth slipped into a small, but barely noticable frown as he felt a tiny headache come on and a stab at his heart.

They would all return to each other's side once more for lunch...

That terrible pinch in the beating organ of his chest followed again at the thought and the brunette couldn't figure out why. Not that he had time to ponder on it before being interrupted.

"Eren. Eren!" Called a soft voice. The boy turned towards the sound only to see a girl with chin-length black hair running towards him. Mikasa's pale skin glistened in the sunlight and when she stopped beside Eren, she observed him with her calm, dark eyes. Like Eren, she had on the usual Military Uniform with the light brown jacket, white pants and dark, knee-high boots, but she also wore the Survey Corp's Wings of Freedom, which Eren took notice that he too was wearing one. "Are you okay, Eren?"

The brunette blinked. "Yeah...why wouldn't I be?"

"Because of _that," _Mikasa spat, gesturing with only her head in the direction of two men.

Those two men were Captain Levi and Commander Erwin.

The man whom Mikasa was not refering to was Commander Erwin Smith; sometimes known as Chief Erwin. As far as Eren knew, the man was quite capable, intelligent and rather repsected by the other soldiers of the Survey Corps. His presence was enough to stiffen anyone up, standing at 6'2", with blond hair, icy blue orbs, and a calm, collected expression.

_That, _as Mikasa called him, or Captain Levi was a little bit different. While Erwin had a commanding presence, Levi was more, for lack of better words, intimidating. The furrows under his eyes made him look angry and the jaded look in dark pupils gave him the impression of appearing bored. Despite his short stature, he was well repsected too, being known as "Humanity's Strongest" due to his fighting skills ablities when using 3d manuever gear. People even say he's like a one-man army, taking down several titans in one run.

Eren shook his head childishly and glared at Mikasa which the girl caught in the corner of her eyes, but pretended to not notice, giving Captain Levi the same sort of look Eren was throwing her way.

Another girl came their way, one with her long black hair tied into two droopy pigtails. She looked quite content, considering they were currently doing their first patrol of the wall since training. When she made it over to them, she gave them a warm smile. _Mina._

"So?" She inquired, glancing at Mikasa, and then Eren. "How are you two feeling? I'm a little bit nervous that this is our first watch...but it's also kinda exciting, don't you think? Especially since the Survey Corps are with us and everything, too!"

Eren blinked, suddenly coming to a weird realization. The Survey Corps were with them too...? The brunette slowly peered back in the direction of Commander Erwin and Captain Levi. The two men were simply standing there, talking...talking amongst the rest of the trainees.

He continued to stare. Why were they here, too?

Mina and Mikasa were observing him now.

"Eren, what's wrong?" Mikasa asked. She didn't give him time to answer before uttering his name once more with more concern then before. "Eren...?"

"..."

"Eren?"

Suddenly Eren got this weird feeling in his gut; almost as if something wasn't right. He could sense that something bad was about to happen, but he didn't know what. He felt like this was a memory of the past that was replying once more, except his mind was completely wiped clean of it besides faint remains of it here and there. His instincts were telling him that he needed to...

Hastily, Eren pushed past Mina and Mikasa, making his way over to Commander Erwin and Captain Levi. His mouth was suddenly dry and his face was breaking into a small sweat, but despite how utterly stupid he may end up sounding, it was better to appear ignorant and not worry rather than regret and worry later on for not speaking up. When he stopped before them, Eren placed his right fist over his heart and threw his other arm behind him in a military salute.

"Commander...! Captain! Permission to speak!"

Captain Levi was the one to do that with a, "tch. What do you want, brat?"

With both of them looking at him so intensely, Eren almost wanted to just turn invisable and flee, especially with the rather high chance of what he planned on saying sounding like nonsense. Still, he put up his best front. "Sir. I have a bad feeling...and this may seem a bit crazy..."

"Oh great, the idiot is going to say something idiotic," Levi mumbled to himself.

The shorter man missed it, but Erwin shot him a cool glance before addressing Eren, "go ahead."

"Well..." the brunette started, thinking his next words carefully. "The Colossal Titan...it's going to attack...again." When both of the men merely continuing to stare at him as if unsure of how to respond, Eren knew he had sounded completely insane. "It's just a hunch! A really...strong hunch. It'll appear right in front of Wall Maria and it'll kick a hole through it! And...the force will be so strong that we'll all be-"

ZSSST.

Eren was cut off by the piercing sound of what seemed to be lightening and it was then that he, unfortunately, realized how accurate his gut had been. The brunette hadn't even turned around yet and he was already feeling frightened by the faces of Commander Erwin and Captain Levi. Both men had an evident guise of pure shock and were gawking up at something behind Eren to which the boy gradually glanced back in fear of confirming his own suspicion.

With an eerie silence from everyone upon the wall, a terrifying atmosphere swept across as each and every one of them met the eyes of the monster before them. But Eren could have sworn that nobody felt as horrified as he did. His mind seemed to replay dreadful memories of his past as he took in the appearance of the titan standing in front of him; pinkish and red, skinless, almost as if someone had grabbed it and peeled it off. Considering the height of the wall, it reached fifty meters tall at the very least. Its eyes were surrounded by black as if shading its daunting, sardonic eyes and Eren had a weird feeling they had rested upon him longer than they should have.

"Shit…." Captain Levi had managed to murmur quietly just before hell went loose and the titan kicked forward into Wall Maria.

The sound of Maria's gates being demolished were excruciatingly loud and alarming. Pieces of debris flew outward, destroying most of the canons on the ground or anything close enough to them. Eren only had a few seconds to hope nobody down was down there before a strong gust of wind from the impact sent him and everyone else flying off the side of the wall.

As his final call, he yelled out for Levi.

* * *

And then he bumped heads with Armin.

"Ouch!" The blonde cried out, pulling back when Eren shot up into a sitting position, accidentally ramming their foreheads together in the process. He sat there with a pained grimace as his expression, rubbing his now aching head with both hands. Unlike Armin, Eren seemed unharmed.

While he did groan at the painful contact of their skulls colliding, his head didn't really hurt that much and he figured that was so since he used to head-butt Mikasa many times when they were younger. His skull must have adjusted enough to where it no longer caused him pain when he did something similar. Or perhaps he was just hardheaded... in both ways. Still, even he was rubbing his forehead; eyes squeezed shut as he hissed at the throbbing once again.

"Damn it…" the brunette whispered. "I'm sorry, Armin…"

From beside him on the bed, the blonde shook his head quickly. "No, it's fine! That was my fault for being too close to you," he responded apologetically, voice level just as low.

Wondering why he was speaking so unobtrusively, Eren glanced around to realize that they were in the boys' sleeping quarters and surrounding them were many other sleeping figures like Jean, Reiner, Bertholdt…

Eren raised an eyebrow, peering at his childhood friend beside him. "Why were you so close…?"

His petite shoulders jerked upwards in a small shrug and he looked away as if embarrassed. "I was just checking up on you… You woke me up because you were shifting in your cot so much and it making noise as you did. It seemed like you were having a bad dream so I thought I'd wake you up from it, but I didn't want to startle you by shaking you."

"I see…"

Being as Eren was already awake and showed no interest in going back to sleep, especially if it meant the possibility returning to such an awful dream; he figured he'd just get ready earlier than the others and before Captain Levi had the chance to startle everyone awake. Said short-tempered man who seemed to always use his profanity with poop had an inkling for barging into the boy's barracks by kicking the door open obtrusively and yelling, "GET UP, YOU LAZY SHITS OR THE DOOR WON'T BE THE NEXT THING I KICK."

Eren always thought he just enjoyed the pale and somewhat fear-stricken faces each one of them made as they all jumped from their sleeping states; sometimes Jean or Reiner even fell, or a better word would be rolled, off their bunks but luckily they both slept on the bottom instead of the top. Not that Eren wouldn't have liked to see Jean fall from that high a place. (He would have and he knows this)

The man never smiled though. He just had the same unbreakingly bored and jaded expression, looking like he couldn't give two fucks about the world and could just fall asleep at anytime. On the inside though, Eren assumed he was laughing, at the very least, seeing his subordinates leap from their own skin at his arrival. It must have been one of the few things in the grumpy old man's life that gave him pleasure.

With this thought in mind, the brunnette was grinning madly as he clumsily changed into his uniform as silently as he could. Had Jean been the only one sleeping, Eren would be summoning all the noise he could ranging from the sounds he could make with his mouth, to the noises objects would make if they were to fall from a cot. Or to be more blunt, objects as in Jean, if he were to be pushed from a cot. But he had a respect for the other boys in the quarters and they seemed deep in sleep so that wasn't going to happen this time around. Horse face was safe for now. Just as Eren was finishing, Armin decided he wasn't going back to sleep either and soon the two were sitting in the mess hall, already dressed and quietly chatting amongst themselves when they heard a loud; "YOU GODDAMN BRATS JUST GET LAZIER EVERYDAY- YOU'RE IN A MILITARY BARRACK; NOT YOUR DAMN MOTHER'S HOUSE!"

Both boys, despite the safe distance, nearly fell from their seats at the man's voice. Armin had even clutched at his chest as if trying to calm his now frightened and fast-beating heart. The two shared a glance, raised an eyebrow in unsion and broke into a small, united laughter. It must have lasted quite a while though because the giggling festival was interrupted when Captain Levi stauntered into the room, looking seemingly as unapproachable as he always did, but giving off a pleased and proud aura. He got his daily dose of happy from scaring younger males was Eren's assumption.

But he causally went back to hating life, the world and everybody in it soon after. Nobody, not even Hanji, intrigued Eren more than this man did.

* * *

The Survey Corps departed after breakfast and a quick debriefing from Commander Erwin on what would soon follow once they returned to the Walls. They would head deep into the most inner wall, Sina, to meet up with the new throne. Historia had taken her rightful place as the youngest queen to ever reign and the stand-ins of the Reiss family were removed from power. As her advisers and right-hand men , she has accepted Commander Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps, Squad Leader Hanji Zoe, Captain Levi Ackerman, Armin Arlert and Ymir. Each legion was given a job to confront; the MPs were dealing with the walls, the Stationary Guard managing defense of the walls and buildups of titans along its edges, and the Survey Corps to deal with the giants head on and the complete obliteration of them as a whole. This kingdom was officially the Reiss Kingdom.

Having returned to Sina; a large meeting was held in the gigantic dining room of the palace in which Historia resided in. The blonde had been sitting at the table already when they were escorted in by an MP. She was cladded in a red and white robe too big for her that it was nearly impossible to see what was under it, but if Eren had to guess; he'd say if it wasn't a dress then most likely it was something elaborate. Ymir, who stood by Historia, wore her normal military uniform but her back was covered with a red cape. The table was long and made of unknown material that was not the wood Eren had been used to and the chairs seemed remarkably robust. Everyone, especially Sasha, were intrigued by it and every time Mikasa saw the opportunity, she'd give potato girl a kick to the leg and the other would suddenly sit up straight, nodding and eyeing Historia as she spoke. According to the new queen, just recently had another kingdom made contact with those of the Reiss monarchy. These were the people of the Britannian Province.

"My presence was requested of them, but I didn't feel safe going outside the walls or for them to come in merely to exchange words-"

"So you're saying you rejected them?" Levi said dismissively, cutting right through her explanation and making it obvious that he was dissatisfied with her choice. "Why in the hell-"

The tall figure, Ymir, standing protectively by Historia slammed her clenched fist down on the table. "She wasn't finished speaking! Don't just cut someone off in the middle of their damn justification-!"

"Mind your mouth, cadet." The short male retorted a bit too calmly, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm still your superior."

"Levi!" Erwin shot the man a look.

"Heh…."

From beside Levi, Eren laughed with his eyes and when a small smile crept on his face; he won a sideways glare from the captain, making him stop almost immediately. Seeing the raven force himself to submit to the Commander never ceased to amuse the boy, but unfortunately for him, Levi always caught him grinning, giggling or trying not to do either if it wasn't full on laughter.

"Go on," Ymir murmured sweetly, patting the blond queen on her head.

Nervousness plastered on her face, Historia cleared her throat and glanced at Levi momentarily before continuing. "To respond to Captain Levi's notion, I did not reject them. Instead I had them send the message through the Stationary Guard to me."

Commander Erwin raised his eyebrows. "And what was said…?"

Historia took in a deep breath; her blue orbs making eye contact with every last person sitting at the table before peering up at Ymir who nodded in response as if they had silently spoken to one another. She then looked at everyone once again. "They discovered us. It was nothing more than a threat against us should we ever think to attack or attempt to conquer them for any reason..."

"How nice of them," Jean murmurs sarcastically.

"I agree." Marco added. "But they're simply being strategic about letting us know our place. They have no idea what kind of administration is run here and so they're being vigilant…"

"Which is WHY we should be vigilant as well, am I right?!" A voice boomed enthusiastically.

The sudden loud and fervent chime in surprised most of the cadets and made almost all of them leap out of their seats. However, Levi and Ymir rolled their eyes in unison, Erwin and Mikasa both seemed unfazed, and Eren froze and sighed heavily as he was able to pin that voice to a face.

"And cue Shitty Glasses," the raven-haired captain said under his breath.

With perfect timing, Squad Leader Hanji Zoe waltzed into the dining room; a big smile spread across her face. Nobody had seen her in a while since she had been working with the MP on the mystery of the walls, and just like Ymir, she also had a red cape instead of the green Wings of Freedom one. Eren noted that the color red was often present around the palace during the walk through the manor to the dining room. Perhaps it was the color of royalty.

"Hello, my lovelies!" Hanji boomed happily. "Haven't seen you all in a while," she nodded towards Eren and gazed dreamily, winking. "My titan boy~"

The brunette scooted towards Captain Levi in hopes for protection should he need it.

Historia turned to look back at the woman. "Are you done, Hanji?"

"Oh-!" Hanji snapped out of her Eren trance and hopped over to the blonde's side. "Yes…"

"And…?"

The squad leader became serious now as she started her apparent report. "Well. Their blades are rather….heavy-duty, you might say. I'm unable to determine what kinds of elements were used, if any at all. Most likely it's a metal, but I have yet to officially determine that. And unfortunately, through an experiment, we've found out that our blades can be dented with it if given enough force."

Erwin was leaning forward now, enthralled. "What are you talking about, Hanji?"

"I take it you all know of the Britannian Province, yes?"

The Survey Corps members nodded in unison.

Hanji pushed up her glasses. "Their blades…are undeniably stronger than ours. I'm unsure of whether it's capable of fully slicing through our swords, but whatever resources they have must be worth much more than what we have. And in conclusion, it's safe to assume that their technology, defense…perhaps everything is more advanced than ours and in a full-out war, we'd be the side to lose."

A hushed silence filled the large room and if Eren could describe it in one word he would say _fear_. Nobody really knew of this kingdom, how it functioned, what it's military was like, who its ruler was…and for the first knowledge of it to be such bad news didn't help much either. The feeling of defeat and submission to this Province was already in the air and no one had anything uplifting to say.

"How do you know this…?" Levi inquired.

"I pulled one of the messengers off to the side and bribed him for his blades. They looked…different, more efficient, not to mention fancy. I also paid him a little extra for information-"

Both Ymir and Historia turned on her quickly.

"AND YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING?" They both exclaimed simultaneously.

"I didn't…?" Hanji murmured with a tilt of her head, blinking. "Sorry. I have bad memory!"

Historia shook her head and Ymir face palmed.

"An idiot with bad memory…" Captain Levi muttered. "Good combination."

Hanji went on as if she hadn't heard Levi's insult and if she did, Eren assumed that maybe she was just so used to his side remarks that she didn't even process them anymore. She raised her index finger up into the air. "One: the ruler of the Britannian Province goes by the name of Lelouch Vi Britannia." As she continued, she would raise a second, then a third and so on. "Two: This ruler has multiple knights that go by numbers; his strongest and most dependable going by the title Knight of Zero, or Suzaku Kuru..ru, ru, ru...Kururugi, Suzaku Kururugi! Excuse my Japanese. Three: There is only a seven mile distance between us. South of Shiganshina lays the Britannian Province. And Four: Their kingdom is also made up of three walls: Wall Sakura, Wall Izaya, and Wall Cleopatra. And if I remember correctly, that was stated in order of most outer to most inner."

Historia stared down at her lap for a few seconds and then turned to meet the eyes of the blond boy sitting beside Mikasa. "Armin…?"

He nodded and smiled slightly. "You know me…I retain important information like a rag absorbs water."

"That you do." She responded, returning the smile and within a second suddenly becoming grim and pale. She regarded Erwin now, placing her clasped hands on the table before her. "This meeting isn't over yet, Commander. While the news of the Britannian Province is bad, they're not our main focus. They've showed no sign of wanting to conquer or invade and rob us of what we have. The main problem is this…" She allowed her eyes to meet everyone's before going on. "The titans are building up on the walls. As we all know, Shiganshina is overrun and Wall Maria is blocked thanks to Eren. However, the area is incredibly infested with titans and they're pushing on the blockage of the gate. Not only that, but Stationary Guards have reported that the titans are piling up, circling us and trying to climb the walls." Her concerned eyes darted to Armin. "And as Armin acknowledged during one of our expeditions; the titans were attempting to climb the trees to get to us and with each attempt, they got better and better, higher and higher, am I correct, Armin?"

Eyes peered at him and he nodded his approval.

"That is why I fear if we don't do something we'll be surrounded and soon after that, crawling with titans. People will be forced outside of the walls where more titans will be awaiting and if that happens…" She trailed off, grimacing at what she had planned on saying.

"You don't have to finish that sentence," Ymir said comfortingly. "They get it…"

"We do get it," Captain Levi spoke up, sitting up straight, arms still crossed over his chest. He tilted his body in the direction of the queen. "And what ideas do you have, your highness?"

The man must have been shooting all of his intimidation at her because Historia only managed to hold his gaze for 3 seconds (Eren actually counted this) before addressing Erwin once more, finding his gaze to be less daunting than the latter. Ymir, having caught that, glared the short man down.

"Well I did have an idea which was sending the experts out there." At this, Erwin's face contorted into something that wasn't very keen and Historia noticed, continuing on. "But the amount of titans out there is a bit overwhelming. And I've concluded that sending the MP out there with you wouldn't be much help, the Stationary Guard could make a difference, but I fear not enough of one, and having all three of you out there is dangerous because it'd leave us without defense."

"Smart…" Levi whispered.

Erwin was pinching the bridge of his nose now, sighing deeply. "Levi…"

"We'll have to do something though, won't we?" Eren piped up for once, ignoring the amused Captain sitting beside him. "If we have no choice other than to go out and fight…"

"You'll be overwhelmed for sure. I cannot take that chance…" Historia countered. "Without you guys, I'll be lost. The Stationary Guard and the Military Police is not as much an asset to me as you all are. If anything, you're all my right-hand men."

After a rather awkward and long silence, Sasha quietly spoke. "Then what else can we do…?"

"Can't Eren go out there and you know—KABOOM!" Connie roared a bit too excitedly, standing from his seat. "And you know…RAAAAAAWWWRRR!" He sat down again. "And you know, eat them or something?"

"That is too dangerous, Connie! Eren could get hurt!" Mikasa refuted.

"Or get overpowered. Eren is just one titan against all those other ones," Jean added. He then glanced over at the brunette, raising an eyebrow and grinning mischievously to which the titan shifter prepared for some smartass comment. "Unless you think you can take them, Jaeger?"

"Thanks for trying to send me to my death, Kirschtein, but I'm not that stupid," Eren replied.

"Pity," horse face responded.

For the next fifteen minutes, the group brainstormed to the best of their ability. There would be moments of talk and debate, going back and forth, agreeing and disagreeing, short statements here and long descriptive paragraphs speeches. Other times, nobody would be talking at all; sitting in absolute silence as they thought. Hanji had retreated back to her lab in order to test more on the Britannian blade she acquired, but every now and then she'd return on a small break, listening or adding ideas when she could. It was mainly Levi, Erwin and Historia speaking; the rest of the cadets piping in when a light bulb sparked over their heads. Ymir and Armin were soundless.

Eren was fine with Ymir not speaking; but Armin? That scared him to no end. He hoped that the blonde was thinking up a master plan verses being completely lost on what could be done about the growing number of titans. If all else was lost, Eren figured maybe he would go with Connie's idea after all. It was better than doing nothing and being overwhelmed, wasn't it?

His blue eyes having been glued to the table for the most part, Armin finally withdrew from his thoughtful gaze and looked up. Everyone had been quiet and he scanned the room of the faces at the table before murmuring, "If nobody else has anything to say, I'll tell you what I've come up with…"

"The floor is all yours," Historia said with a smile.

"Alright," Armin started. "This may sound a bit crazy, but I think it could work if we plan this very carefully. What I'm going to tell you all is simply a rough draft, if you will, and will need more details should we agree to it…okay?" Everyone nodded; eyes bursting with the obvious curiosity of what the boy may have managed to come up with.

"We team up with the military force of the Britannian Province."

About seven seconds of nothingness.

"That's it…?" Levi probed.

"That's it."

"That's really it?" Ymir asked; her eye twitching.

"That's really it," Armin proclaimed. "I mean think about it… a mutual agreement. The titans have got to be a problem for the Britannian Province as well, right? So if Lelouch is a smart and sympathetic man, he'll understand that helping us will not only save lives, but give him the opportunity to become our ally. And if we're allies, that's one less enemy to worry about for him and that guarantees that if he's ever in trouble, we'll come to his rescue."

Jean heaved a sigh. "So you're saying we just waltz over there and say, 'hey Lelouch! We have a titan problem over here and we were wondering if we could possibly become allies even though we know nothing about each other. We just need help over here and if you're ever in trouble, we'll help you too! It's a win-win situation for us both!'"

"Basically..." Armin whimpered. "Except we definitely won't say it like that."

* * *

It wasn't much longer after this that they departed from the meeting. Hanji remained behind to continue working under Historia with the study of the Britannian blades and the walls. Armin and Erwin also stayed behind to settle the kinks of his ideas with Historia in private. Captain Levi had been given full reign over the Survey Corps and he left them to do as they pleased until night came. Later that day and in front of the stables, Levi gave them the rough details. Should they agree to Armin's plan, he, Armin and a couple of other soldiers would head out in the morning in hopes of managing a compromise with Lelouch Vi Britannia. And should things go bad, Levi was to shoot the noisy red signal flare gun he'd be equiped with and everyone here (who were to make sure to be on alert) were to race over without a moment's hesitation.

All of this made Eren feel nervous. He knew as much as everyone else did about the Britannian Province and that was nothing besides the fact that they sounded frightening, strong and capable. The last thing he wanted was for something to happen to Captain Levi; or anyone for that matter. He didn't want anyone to die in a struggle of humanity vs. humanity. They were supposed to work together, were they not? But there was nothing that gave Eren the belief that Lelouch would see things that way. And that scared him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Warnings for this chapter? UNHOLY LEVI/EREN SEX. and death. k. bai.**

* * *

In the dark of the night, a violet eyed boy who went by the alias Rolo treaded the vacant streets of the Gray District in the inner wall of Cleopatra. Had it been daytime and the area lively with villagers, he knew he'd attract the eyes of many onlookers with the long, brown trench coat he wore that almost reached his ankles. He had it buttoned up all the way, hiding the nice clothing that cladded him underneath. As he walked under the street lights, his chestnut hair seemed to shine and his eyes squinted for a few seconds before darkness washed over him again and his orbs opened more.

Rolo felt someone following him, but didn't bother to confront the person or stop and turn around as he didn't need to. Eventually, his walk came to a halt when he reached his destination; the alleyway behind the Gray Lights company. The smell of manmade herbal aromas and tobacco filled his nostrils and the boy scrunched his nose in disgust, familiar with the scent of the prostitute house. It made him think of his brother and now current Emperor, Lelouch vi Britannia, the one who had taken him in from this hellhole, taken him away from a life of trading his body for his survival.

The Gray District of the most inner wall Cleopatra; both famous and infamous for impoverished and struggling people who refuse to join the militia, but know a thing or two about seducing others for money. And the prostitutes usually met up with their clients in the streets, dressed in a trench coat. After saving Rolo from this horror, Lelouch had once threatened to destroy the District's dirty secret, but riot of the people kept him at bay. He never tried again after that, but the boy understood and he still was grateful for his brother's attempt nonetheless. And he was grateful that he rescued him.

He loved his brother.

Which was why he was doing this. He'd do anything for Lelouch; anything at all and he'd go as far as he needed to if it meant the Britannian Emperor would be pleased. Leaned against the Gray Lights building, he waited for a few more minutes until a man lurked into the alleyway, moving to Rolo a bit sluggishly. The 16-year old watched the man with a disapproving look as it was obvious with the way he sauntered that he was under the influence of alcohol. He stood up straight when the space between them was closed, eyeing the man but finding it difficult to make out his features in the dark. All he could manage to pick out was the almost square-structured lines of his face, dark eyes and his black hair.

"You're Rolo, right…?" He murmured questioningly, moving around drunkenly like he'd topple over any minute.

The boy nodded. "I am."

Inching closer, the man used his body to press Rolo against the wall and he cupped his face in his large hands, looking the younger male over. "Cute…" He whispered.

The man had been so close that Rolo practically felt his breath against his face and could smell the alcohol in it. He squeezed an eye shut and turned his head away at the stench. And much to Rolo's displeasure, the older male leaned in and started gliding his cold lips over the boy's jawline. Luckily, Suzaku made sure not to torture Rolo this time around.

Abruptly, the man flinched and let out a strained cry; his fun being put to an end by a knife to the back. He gave the now slightly grinning and impassive-looking Rolo a wide-eyed guise of shock before the sharp blade was yanked from his back, causing him to fall backwards, whimpering in agony. It took him a while to calm down and when he could manage to look up; he saw two figures standing above him. Of course one of them was Rolo, but the other was in a familiar hooded cloak of perfect yellow and white fabric. The only fabric you'd find on the backs of the Emperor or his royal thugs.

Still sniveling, the man achieved speaking a few words. "W-W-W-Which….one…?"

Rolo understood the question right after it was spoken and he turned towards his hooded friend, appearing drained and detached. "This one is disappointing; a foolhardy drunk and bitch if you will. I don't think he even deserves to know which one you are."

A trend started by Emperor Lelouch, it was considered honorable to give your name to the one you killed before they died and he made sure that all of his knights did that on their missions of disposing in-hiding criminals. Though Rolo agreed with this to an extent; he didn't think it was always necessary, especially if criminals were as wretched and lowly as this one was.

However, not surprising to Rolo whatsoever, the assassin pulled back his hood anyway and the man choked out a pained gasp. Revealed to him were the emerald eyes that usually flashed with benevolence, the mass of brown curly hair upon his head, the tanned skin and the toned body. It was too dark for the dying man to confirm, but if anything, the green orbs were not benevolent at the moment. He never thought the one to kill him for his crimes would be the top dog.

"Kururugi, Suzaku. Knight of Zero," the cloaked male said.

"Knight of Zero…" The man murmured; his back already soaked in his own blood.

Rolo found it astounding that he was still alive or perhaps he was just super aggravated and soon, he made eye contact with Suzaku. "I think this man has been shamed enough, especially with the crimes he's committed. No need to wait around for him so he can writhe in his last minutes on this forsaken earth. Let's just finish it."

Receiving a curt nod from the Knight of Zero, he walked past Suzaku, leaving the alleyway and entering the streets. The brown-haired male followed seconds later, boisterously scraping the blade against one of the buildings as he walked in attempt to wipe the blood off. It was something he always did—no, it was something all the knights of Lelouch did after a kill. Whether it was to show dominance to the rest of the villagers; to remind them just who was in charge, Rolo didn't know. And he didn't ask. He was likely to receive a one-line, nippy response that wouldn't really give him closure on the matter. Even though Suzaku was a nice guy, open and cheery, someone you'd want to be friends with, that's how he always acted on these missions. He knew the Knight didn't like killing, but he followed Lelouch regardless. And albeit, Rolo understood wanting to wipe off the blood of such a pitiful man; but that knife was still brand new, beautiful and not yet dull; and even better, given to him by Lelouch.

Teeth clenching, fists balling and shoulders now shaking in annoyance; the boy let out a low growl. "Watch it," Rolo said snappishly without even needing to turn around. "Brother gave the blade to you as a present and you're probably scratching it up by doing that!"

"He gave it to me as a murder weapon," Suzaku retorted in a quiet, calm voice.

Rolo groaned and started off down the street, not feeling like riding the misery train with the allegedly mature one. "Let's just go. I'm tired."

"Alright…" The Knight of Zero replied soundlessly, glancing back in the alleyway and momentarily showing a hint of melancholy before composing himself once more and following after the younger boy.

* * *

Having fallen asleep in his attempt to wait out the rest of the boys, Eren woke up in his cot and cursed under his breath softly; coming to the realization that he had just lost valuable time.

From his sleeping space, he could hear the serene breathing of everyone around him as he took a glance out the only window they had that was located by Connie's bunk. It was still dark outside and doing this enough as a kid; he'd gotten better and better at giving an educated guess on the time without the help of the sun.

Eren took a deep breath and pushed back the covers, slowly throwing his legs over the side of his bed and sliding off into a stealthy stance, peering around to make sure nobody stirred. He was still cladded in the under garments of his military uniform and his bedhead showed in his brown-colored hair which he didn't bother to fix, knowing he had more important things to worry about. He tiptoed towards the door and towards his freedom; and when he had made it into the hallways of the barracks, he released the breath he had been holding and found his heart was beating fast.

Weird, he's done worse things.

Not wanting to lose any more time, Eren hurriedly sped-walked down the corridors. His destination was quite far and out of boredom; he ended up counting how many steps he was taking only to lose track after a while due to his lack of focus. Eventually, he stopped at a closed door.

Uneasiness was plastered all of his face and in his eyes as he raised a fist to the door. However, he swiftly lost his will to knock on the door and stepped back timidly; unsure of whether this was really a good idea or not. His mother had always told him that if he had to question it then most likely, it was something that shouldn't be done in the first place.

The thought of his dead mother made him step back again and he hung his head, feeling a little bit of rage and sorrow well up in his chest, leaving him just about ready to turn around and return back to his cot. But just before he could, the door he had been anxiously staring at opened up and standing in the doorway was Captain Levi. Unconsciously, Eren balled his right hand into a fist and placed it over his heart just as his left arm went into hiding behind his back in a salute. "S-Sir! I'm so sorry! I was just passing by and…" he trailed off and dropped his salute; surprised at the look he was being given.

The shorter male stared at him with void eyes and to Eren, it seemed like he was actually fatigued for once and seemingly vulnerable, like the few seconds of silence that passed was simply Levi trying to wake himself up. In fact, Eren didn't even feel intimidated by the man which he usually did. "Sir…?"

Levi didn't even bother to say anything; he simply grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him into his room, closing the door behind them. He then took a few seconds to recover, rubbing his eyes irritably before glaring up at the taller male. "What do you want…? You do know I have to wake up early, don't you? I already told you that they've agreed to Arlert's plan."

Still caught off guard by how exposed the captain seemed; Eren had to snap himself out of the way he was ogling the man. "Oh. Yes… I know. I just wanted to be with you…before you left." He closed his eyes, covered his face and backed up remarkably fast, believing that he was just about to be smacked upside the head. But the smack never came and when he moved his hands again, he met with a newfound strength in Levi's eyes, grey orbs seething with his usual terrorization.

Contradictory to the look in his eyes, Levi replied with a trifling but noticeably lenient, "do whatever you want," as he slowly walked back to his bed, plopped down on it and got under the blankets. He then turned towards Eren who still stood there and made room for him, lifting up the covers for him. "Well? What the fuck are you waiting for?"

The corners of Eren's lips rose into a small smile and he hurried over and slid into the bed, Levi throwing the blankets over him. The boy noticed how warm it was under there and he could feel the warmth radiating off the man beside him too. It made him scoot in closer; an arm went over the shorter male's waist and Eren snuggled up to him, burying his face into Levi's chest.

At this, the raven-haired man heaved a sigh, but he returned the embrace the little idiot was giving him nonetheless. His face met with the boy's messy brown hair and one of his hands found its way to it, tangling his fingers into it and causing Eren to close his eyes happily and beam.

Despite how badly Eren wanted to just kiss the man he admired so much; this was just as fulfilling.

* * *

The following morning, Eren woke up to the dull walls of the barracks and an empty bed.

The sight made the sleep in the boy's eyes momentarily leap into alertness before they relaxed into a look of disappointment as he came to the realization that he had overslept and perhaps Levi decided to leave without waking him. No kiss goodbye, no nothing, eh?

However, Eren honestly didn't know what he was expecting of the man in the first place. Captain Levi was Captain Levi, and this unofficial fling the two had going on wasn't going to change the way he acted. He would always still be the dismal, emotionally constipated man who made shit jokes and held his teacup in an odd way despite their relationship. Not that Eren minded that since it was those things and many more that differed him from any other possible love interests.

Still, he wouldn't have minded a kiss.

Sitting up in the bed; the covers fell from his shoulders and he scratched the back of his head, starting to contemplate whether he should stay and risk being caught sleeping in Levi's bed or return to his own cot. The second option didn't interest him, but the first had its consequences and maybe the worst case scenario would be all of his peers, Jean especially, assuming he was gay for Heichou and had purposely snuck into his room in order to fondle the area in which the man laid. That statement wasn't very far off though, it was more like; being gay for Heichou and sneaking into his room to fondle the man-

Eren's entire face scrunched up at that thought.

"What in the hell is wrong with me…?" He asked himself aloud.

"Lots of things," a voice responded.

The unexpected reply made the boy nearly leap out of his skin and he turned to see Captain Levi standing by the door, leaning against its doorframe. He was dressed in his white, button-up dress shirt, black pants and had a piece of paper in his hand.

Eren knitted his eyebrows and he shot the man a small glare, eyes narrowed. "Thanks for the reassurance." When Levi raised an eyebrow, the boy added, "no, really. What are you doing here, Captain…? I thought you left."

"I did," he responded.

At this, Eren became attentive and he almost fell off the bed when he eagerly leaned in the direction of the man in curiosity. "Really?! What did Lelouch say? Is he going to help us or what?!"

"I mean I left the room."

There was pure oblivion in a pair of green orbs. "….so you didn't leave…?"

The brunette could have sworn he saw some light leave Levi's eyes, even in the dimness of the room they occupied. He figured had the guy been smiling; he would've dropped it in that second. "Are you fucking shitting me? I just made a joke. It seems like somebody needs to go take a fucking turd." The higher up trudged over to his desk with a sigh, laid down the paper he had in his hands and sat down in the chair. He had his back to Eren now and he picked up one of his feather-ink pens and started scribbling as he mumbled to himself. "Tell a fucking kid one stupid joke and the shitty brat won't even appreciate it let alone acknowledge it. You've got to be kidding me. Why do I even try?"

From the bed, Eren was smiling and trying his best to hold in his laughter. If anybody needed to go take a turd; it was probably the man who was angrily muttering to himself. He had never seen Levi so pissed off about a thing as small as a joke, not to mention that the fact that his joke hadn't made Eren laugh also bothered him. It was cute, for an old man.

Grinning madly, the younger male quietly got up from the bed and snuck up behind the man only to wrap his arms around his shoulders and lean over him. "What are you writing?"

"A note," Levi replied quickly.

"For who?"

"Are you always this fucking nosy, you shitty fuck?"

"Are you always this mean, you crusty old man?"

There was a tiny hum of approval from Levi. "Heh…that's a new one." By this time, he finished writing and grabbed a string of ribbon nearby, starting to wrap the note up. "It's for that shithead Emperor. If they don't allow us to speak with Lelouch then I'm going to bribe one of the guards into delivering this to him. I want him to know what's going on even if we're not there to tell him ourselves." He turned his head slightly to look at Eren. "Don't mention this to anybody; no fucking joke. I wasn't given permission to do this."

Feeling an opportunity opening up for him, Eren nodded his head nonchalantly. "Of course… that is, if crusty old man gives the shitty fuck a kiss."

Levi shot Eren a look and the boy returned it with a professional poker face. The boy, being around the man much more often now, had gotten a lot of practice for this expression and he could tell it was paying off by the silence that filled the air. Their eyes were locked in a stare-off; both of them refusing to blink. Finally, it was Eren who broke the quiet and tensed atmosphere as he moved around and threw a leg over Levi, straddling his lap with a cheeky grin and receiving a sigh from the other.

"I don't have time for your bullshit, Eren. I'd like to go take a shower before I leave."

Hands were gliding down Levi's shoulders and over his chest. "Come on… a bullshit free kiss. I swear."

"No."

Eren whined. "You suck, corporal..."

There was a small chuckle from the back of Levi's throat and Eren found it hard to tell whether it was a warning chuckle or a genuine one. He felt the older male ghosting a gentle hand from his hip to the back of his neck and then into his brunette hair. But the gentleness turned into a threat when he felt Levi grip his brown locks, eliciting a little moan on Eren's part, forcing him to look the other in the eyes. "We both know who sucks in this relationship, you horny little shit."

"Yeah…" Eren murmured, already feeling a little turned on by the roughness of his hair being pulled. He felt Levi's iron grip soften and he managed to easily slip from it, sliding down to his knees on the floor between Levi's legs. There was no resistance from the raven-haired man, no attempt in closing his legs; in fact, he was staring down at the boy with impatience and predaciousness; eyes of intimidation replaced with hunger as if just daring Eren to make his move.

And Eren didn't even need that encouragement. He knew time was short though and that Levi would be leaving soon so he opted with skipping to the main event. He made sure the raven caught his fleeting look of deviousness before laying back on the ground, legs sprawled open and eyes glinting with invitation. From his chair, Levi cringed but just barely as if the look Eren was giving him shot right through him.

The brunette locked eyes with his superior; throwing one arm over his head and allowing the other one to travel down his body sensually. His eyes promoted pure arrogance, he was biting his lip, his back was arching up a little at his own touch and his toes even started to curl. By this time, Eren was slipping his hand inside his own pants and soon after, the rhythmic moving bulge at the front of his region was him jerking himself off at a steady pace. His eyes involuntarily fluttered closed and his mouth went agape in pleasure, little cries escaping his lips with every pump. Feeling overwhelmed by his own pleasure, Levi's reaction to his new attempt at seduction became the last thing on his mind. But thinking of that even just a little sent his mind running wild, building up a new fantasy that was already pushing him to his limit now and leaving him unable to stop the next moan from jumping off his tongue.

"L-LEVI!"

The next thing Eren knew; his hand was being yanked out of his own pants, his legs were lifted up into the air and he felt his pants and underwear being forcefully pulled off and thrown to the side. A small hiss came from the boy when he felt his hardness meet cold air and he remained on the floor, staring up at the man dumbfounded with his mouth slightly open. Levi, now blatantly turned on and struggling to slip out of his own clothing, had placed himself between the younger male's legs at the sound of his own name as if responding to Eren's call. Said younger male was mewling quietly from underneath him and losing patience from having already getting himself excited. Once Levi was naked, Eren didn't even take the time to marvel at his body like he usually did; instead his legs clamped around Levi's waist like a vice, his arms grasped at his torso and his body arched. The boy was brashly grinding up into the man, nails digging into his back. Levi only returned the act for a few seconds before forcing Eren's legs apart more by his inner thighs, grabbing his hips and lifting him for more leverage. There wasn't even enough time for Eren to take a deep breath before his entrance was filled with an acquaintance of his.

Reflexively throwing his head back, the brunette made an attempt to cut short his sharp gasp and ended up making a long and low humming sound from the back of his throat. "Mmmmmm!" His body was shuddering from the feeling of his ass being dourly penetrated by the man; Levi's size and the way he had just hastily shoved himself in aside, Eren knew this was a spot not be toyed with in the first place.

Not that he was going to stop.

He was breathing heavily for a while and apparently his vision had blurred just a little bit because when the distortion had ceased, he noticed Levi hovering over him with his face appearing somewhat pained but otherwise impassive. Eren couldn't tell whether the older male was struggling to catch his breath or not, but if he was; it almost sounded like his breathing was intertwined with some growling.

"I'm not going to keep doing this with your sorry ass if I always get squeezed like this in the beginning," Levi muttered in a quiet, husky voice. "Control your shit contractions, Eren."

The taller one of the two managed a short and winded laugh. "I'll try…"

It was a nice moment between them but Eren's laughter only reminded him of the burning sensation still lingering in his lower region and the fact that his time with Levi was limited. He was going to leave soon to the Britannian Province and Eren simply wanted some of the man's time before that happened. That reality must have hit him too because he now pulled the boy's legs up to rest upon his shoulders and stared Eren in the eyes for what felt like forever to them both before Levi broke the silence.

"You're one flexible little shit."

Eren shook his head. "I don't think this counts because you put me into this position."

"Does it hurt?" The man questioned; no concern in his voice whatsoever.

"Not really…"

"Then you're one flexible little shit."

Just as the brunette was about to retort as to why he had to also be a 'little shit', Levi did the first thrust, leaving Eren to be interrupted after his first word; his "why" turning into a sharp cry and then a low hum like the one he had made earlier.

And the Captain seemingly wasn't waiting for Eren to catch his breath either because only after a few seconds he started plunging in and out once again, finding a steady pace to go at which was slowly but surely transforming the boy underneath him into a moaning mess. Every time Levi pulled out, Eren felt empty momentarily and those moments to him were just as excruciating as the searing pain he felt when he was infiltrated again. The sounds that were escaping his lips sounded shrill due to the rawness down inside him; having been unprepared for the act in which they were committing. And even though his arms were sprawled over his head and free enough to cover his own mouth and hide his lurid moans; he choose not to, feeling like it'd be even more agonizing to hold them back.

On the other hand, Levi had his panting in check; outwardly more focused on his thrusting and the reactions Eren was making more than anything. Other than to pull back the hem of Eren's shirt, he kept his hands planted on either side of him for support and would seldom press his mouth against different areas of the boy's body like his belly or chest; sometimes forcing Eren to be a bit more flexible so he could reach his neck or lips. The brunette didn't mind though if he noticed in the first place that is; he was so overwhelmed by it all that instead of returning the infrequent kisses Levi gave him like he'd like to, all he could manage was sending a horde of whines and whimpers into his mouth.

An intense feeling was welling up inside of Eren now and he knew that he wasn't going to last for much longer. His moans became conspicuously vulgar and more frantic, and Levi began to buck his hips harder. This caused the titan shifter to clench his teeth grotesquely tight and he felt had he gritted them anymore, they'd break under the pressure. But Levi exploded inside of him soon after with a groan, throwing Eren off of his edge and forcing out a final cry and his own relief when the hot, gooey liquid filled him. His entire body sunk and he became limp, staring up at the ceiling and realizing just how the cold the floor actually was underneath him. There was a trivial, repulsed sigh from Levi's end and Eren figured that when his release came, it must have accidentally shot out onto Levi too.

Accidentally.

At least he had still been wearing his shirt.

Eren assumed he should point that out.

"This is still pretty fucking disgusting," Levi responded, still just as breathless as Eren was. He pulled back and dropped the boy's legs, grabbing his clothes and starting to put them back on for the walk to the showers. Half way done getting his pants on, he smacked the exhausted brunette on his leg, being compensated with a small grunt. "Get the fuck up and put on your clothes. You're just as filthy as I am and you're going to take a shower."

"Aye, aye, Captain…" Eren murmured wearily, slowly sitting up to get dressed. "Or would you prefer corporal? Or Heichou?"

"Don't start this again."

"Corporal~"

"Pick one and stick to it."

"Heichou~"

"They all mean the same fucking thing, Eren."

"Captain~"

"You shitty fuck…"

"Crusty old man~"

* * *

Having stayed up late last night with Emperor Lelouch and other executive officers while going over political and economic issues, C.C. had pretty much slept the entire morning away. She woke up in the late afternoon, greeted by the softness of her large bed, surprised to see that her room wasn't glistening in sunlight like it typically did in the mornings. Like usual, she had fallen asleep in her old white straitjacket, abnormally finding it much more comfy than the many beautiful sleeping gowns offered to her. It wasn't set to bind her though and she liked how the long sleeves flared outwards like cuffs so it wasn't too odd. It simply gave her many memories; especially those of how she met the current Emperor, Lelouch Vi Britannia, and the Knight of Zero, Suzaku Kururugi.

She decided not to tie up her long, lime green hair and quickly got outfitted; placing an elaborate red and white dress over her normal under garments of a sleeveless white shirt and boy shorts.

When she arrived downstairs where the entrance to the enormous mansion rested, she was met with three familiar and concerned looking faces standing by the doorway.

One of them was the brown-haired Knight of Zero, Suzaku Kururugi. He was still cladded in his yellow and white cloak, and C.C. figured that he must have been rather busy to still have that on considering the warm temperatures outside. His forest-green eyes were dull in frustration as he disputed with the smaller boy in front of him. Rolo was standing there rather serenely, dressed in a trench coat, shaking his head as the fuming Knight blew off on him. Beside him was Nunnally, Lelouch's younger sister, sitting in her mobile wheelchair and outwardly listening hard as she was blind.

"Tell them to go away! There's no need for them to bother my brother. You're the Knight of Zero, they'll believe you. They seem like idiots to me," Rolo retorted peevishly.

"For the last time, he is not your real brother!" Suzaku snapped, receiving a noxious scowl from the other. "This is a political issue here and we either make it or we break it here with these people. We don't know what kind of kingdom they have over there and if they decide we're enemies, we could be in serious trouble! Think about the people. If they attack us, could we win? We don't know, and the last thing we need to do is push them away without trying to compromise!"

"You saw them out there," the boy crooned. "They're armed, Suzaku. They could hurt Lelouch."

"We'll be right beside him!"

The crippled girl sitting beside the two softly offered, "I trust Suzaku with my brother's life… You should, too, Rolo."

But before the smaller male could reply to that, C.C. hurried over and broke into their heated conversation. "Why are you all arguing? What's going on and who's here?"

All three of them regarded the witch now and when Rolo pouted and turned his head away, she looked to Suzaku for an explanation.

"Remember when the scouting team found that kingdom a couple of miles away from us?"

C.C. nodded. She remembered, for sure. Once their militia had returned from its expedition and spread the news of the neighboring kingdom, it became the big talk of the town and soon forced its place onto Emperor Lelouch's list of things to address. In fact, she couldn't even take an enjoyable, elongated walk through any of the districts of Wall Cleopatra without overhearing rumors and small mentions of the Reiss kingdom. Who was their king? What was he like? Was he better than Lelouch? Oh, not a king? What was their queen's name? Did they have militia? Is it better than ours? People were comparing kingdoms left and right through questioning formats and being a personal official and friend of Lelouch's, it made C.C. feel rather targeted and endangered.

"Well there are a couple of its soldiers outside of our walls, requesting to speak with Lelouch, but the problem is that nobody can agree on how to handle the matter," Suzaku said pointedly, eyes flickering as he shot Rolo a hard, three-second glare. "Which is one of the reasons why we have a ruler in the first place…and it's Lelouch. He'll always pull through in the end. As the people, who have been the closest to him, we should know this and we should trust him."

C.C. could understand that. She may not have been a childhood friend like Suzaku was, but she knew Lelouch well enough and knew his potential.

"Just because he's king, it doesn't mean we should just drop everything on his shoulders," Rolo growled abruptly. "That's why he has us and why we're his officials. He's got enough weight as it is with our criminal rates skyrocketing through the damn roof. There are prostitutes getting raped and killed. Merchant's charts are being robbed if they so much as bat an eyelash. Medicines are being abused and used on people as sedates and god knows what else. We have children, especially those of any Asian descent, being kidnapped and never seen again. Hell, maybe you're next Suzaku since you're Japanese! It's obvious we have some black marketing going on here and people from all three of the wall districts have been pressuring Lelouch to do something about it!"

"Because they're scared," Nunnally murmured. "And they're simply turning to their ruler for help…"

"And that's his job," Suzaku added.

"Agreed. There should be no problem concerning Lelouch's safety if he goes out there because he has Suzaku, the rest of the Knights, and everyone here who wishes for his well-being." C.C. wasn't one to smile often, but she tried giving Rolo her sweetest one. "We should tell him and let him-"

"Tell me what?"

C.C., and everyone else for that matter, flinched at the voice. They all gradually turned around, even Nunnally in her little wheelchair, and met with the fatigued, amethyst eyes of their ebony-haired emperor Lelouch vi Britannia. It was easy to tell he was exhausted and trying not to slouch, but without the extra accessories and robes of his elaborate, white, yellow and black Emperor-like attire, it was a bit obvious he was forcing himself to stand straight. It upset C.C. to see Lelouch look so out of it and she almost wanted to turn back on agreeing with Suzaku now.

She had the ball rolling, but they hadn't agreed to the idea of mentioning it to him just yet. However, it was too late. And this guy was as persistent as all hell. In fact, the woman had accidentally revealed a little something of Lelouch's birthday celebration last year when he was around. And boy, did he stare her down and intimidate her to no end despite having known the entire time. He claimed he just wanted to see how long she would last without giving in.

"Your birthday celebration," C.C. tried. "Yay…"

The only reward she got, if you would even call it that, was the deep sigh on Rolo's end.

Shaking his head, Suzaku stepped forward and lightly elbowed the green-haired woman to the side. "We have a problem…and nobody is agreeing with anybody on what to do. We wanted to deal with this by ourselves and give you a break for once, but this is too big and it's most likely best if we follow your lead this time."

Lelouch nodded selflessly. "I'm listening…"

"It's about the Reiss Kingdom. They've got soldiers outside of our walls right now."


	3. Chapter 3

Rolo was absolutely livid.

This was all going to blow up in their face and he knew it, but nobody ever gave him the true benefit of the doubt due to his age and his "creepy," as one of the knights named Gino calls it, loyalty and devotion to Lelouch. Yes, he was younger and everyone had a couple of years on him, (including the green-haired witch C.C. even though she refused to say just how many years she's lived) but that didn't mean his views should be looked down upon any more than the next person. He was a smart boy and he's proved it too many times to count, especially with his past taken into consideration, but that apparently didn't matter. The only thing that made him important was the power in him that stopped his heart and the time around him. And that, plus his imprudent, impulsive mouth, may have been the unfortunate things that caused the meeting to play out the way they did.

They sat in a room for quite the bit of time, keeping their possible soon-to-be enemies waiting outside the walls in the furious heat, as they debated on how to address these unknown people. Lelouch listened for the most part; nodding his head, narrowing his eyes, and occasionally appearing lost in thought, amethyst eyes glazing over at times (eliciting C.C. to snap her fingers in front of his face and jolt him to attention). Everyone knew he was listening; he wouldn't play around with such matters, but it was sometimes difficult to decipher his jaded and fatigued expressions from his 'deep in thought' ones.

Still, Rolo made sure to send a scowl Suzaku's way just to prove his point from earlier about Lelouch overworking himself; to which the brunet chose to ignore, much to the younger boy's astonishment. The Knight of Zero was being the bigger man for once, he noted, which would have saved him a headache the night before when Suzaku decided to mope and pout over killing a man; a man who was charged with theft and the rape of women, nonetheless. Still, the only thing his lips knew that night was a thin, tight frown and nothing else. There was just no end to that big, stupid heart of his, was there?

And it may just be his downfall one day.

_One day,_ Rolo thought a bit too bitterly.

"All we're doing is bickering over nothing," Gino chimed stoically. For once, the seventeen year-old Knight of Three sounded genuinely bored and it caught everyone's attention, including Lelouch whose eyes skimmed towards the male. The blond was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his face still holding that daft smirk he always wore despite his blasé tone. "I say we go out there and if things work out, cool. But if there's a fight, well then shit. We kick ass, right guys?" Gino glanced at the rest of the Knights of the Round. Monica, Bismarck, Nonette and Dorothea all nodded in agreement. Luciano shrugged, but his face had agreement written all over it.

Even the silent, pink-haired Knight of Six, Anya nodded when Gino looked to her. Rolo was gritting his teeth in pure vehemence and he could have sworn that if steam wasn't coming out his ears; his face was at least as red as physically possible, but he made sure not to so much as peer in Suzaku's direction in case the brunet was planning on flashing that stupid victorious smirk of his.

"Well…?" C.C. probed after a minute-long, hushed front washed over them.

Lelouch lifted his head up from its resting position on his arms and turned his head towards the witch. She was leaning in and Rolo found himself doing the same, hoping that by some miracle his brother would actually agree with him rather than Suzaku and everyone else. The last thing he wanted was for one of those Reiss people to get their filthy hands around his brother's neck and hold him hostage (that is, if they're nice enough to do that instead of getting right to the bloodshed). They'd be at a disadvantage then—no, they'd be at a complete loss and at the mercy of their enemy, especially Rolo. The only thing that would be left for them to do would be to roll over and show their stomachs.

Lelouch's eyes met Rolo's.

The younger boy was completely caught off guard, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. The emperor always did this. He always tried to read Rolo before making a hard decision because he trusted Rolo that much. The sixteen year old lightly shook his head and even mouthed, "No" and he knew Lelouch saw it because his eyes briefly flickered to his lips. But then he looked away.

And then he looked at Suzaku.

And Rolo dropped his gaze in defeat.

Suzaku and Lelouch; they always stared at each other longer, for much longer, than anyone else. Lelouch trusted Rolo, but he trusted Suzaku with anything and everything; with his life, his being, his soul, and the welfare of his entire empire. Rolo wasn't stupid. Nobody had to tell him of the special bond that his brother and Suzaku shared. No matter how much he desperately wanted to believe that Lelouch stared simply because (as much as he hated to admit it) Suzaku's emerald eyes were something a person could easily get lost in, he knew there was something more. They were holding a conversation that nobody else could hear and Rolo's steadfast defeat was set deep in stone as soon as those eyes of theirs met.

It seemed to happen in slow motion to Rolo; Lelouch turning his attention to everyone else, saying that he'd go out and speak with the Reiss soldiers, Suzaku's face lighting up, C.C.'s slight smile, and Rolo slamming his hands on the table and standing from his chair suddenly.

"Let me go out there too, brother!"

Everyone seemed a bit startled by the outburst and Rolo found himself hurrying to Lelouch's side only to pugnaciously grab him by the shoulders (causing Suzaku to flinch instinctively) and stare into his eyes with a panicky expression on his face as he spoke rapidly and frantically. "I can use my power! I may only be able to make it to five or six seconds, but it'll do, won't it?! We'll have them seized before anything even happens and that will mean that they won't be able to hurt you!"

Rolo didn't even know that his nails were grotesquely digging into Lelouch's shoulder, probably leaving red marks in their wake on pale, flaccid skin. Had he known, he would have relaxed his fingers and calmed himself down; but he was too apprehensive, too anxious and absolutely terrified. He was actually coming to the possibility of putting the one person that sincerely showed him that he was loved and the one person that he loved in return, in danger.

Tanned hands reached out and soothingly rubbed Rolo's rigid, trembling, pale ones. Suzaku was by Lelouch's side now and Rolo could see both their faces in his distorting vision as he started tearing up. He didn't notice C.C. noiselessly stand from her seat and awkwardly usher the rest of the knights out of the room, leaving just the three of them in the large meeting room.

Suzaku squeezed Rolo's tiny hands. "We're going to protect, Lelouch. There's no need to cry."

Rolo didn't even look up.

He was too embarrassed now. He had just broke down in front of everyone; in front of C.C., all the Knights of the Round, Suzaku and Lelouch… (oh and especially Suzaku). Still, the warmth radiating from Suzaku's hands comforted Rolo and his fingers relaxed, but he refused to look up, tears trailing little rivers down his cheeks and hanging at his jawline for dear life.

"Suzaku…" Lelouch murmured.

There was a small silence before the brunet murmured, "Alright… whenever you're ready." And the sound of footsteps came and went, followed by the closing of a door.

Rolo felt Lelouch's gentle hands grab at his and pry them from his shoulder and he slowly peered up, meeting with his brother's composed face. He felt self-conscious now; and he didn't want Lelouch staring at him after he had just cried uncontrollably. He started to pull away.

"I'll go get ready—"

But Lelouch still hadn't let go of his wrist.

And Rolo froze there with his back to him, refusing to turn around much less look at him.

The raven-haired emperor stood up and walked around the younger male to stand in front of him. He wasn't much taller than Rolo, but the boy still had to raise his head if he wanted to meet his gaze. He felt intimidated by Lelouch; staring down at the ground for as long as he could. But when he came to the conclusion that his brother was going to wait as long as it took, he finally looked up and was greeted with a disappointed frown and a pair of frustrated light purple orbs.

He already knew what was coming up.

"What did I tell you about that power of yours…?" Lelouch whispered exasperatingly.

The sixteen-year old looked down again.

"Rolo."

He tensed. "Not to use it, not to speak of it, not to ever even think of it…"

A tender hand found its way into Rolo's mass of chestnut-colored locks, fingers gently threading in the thin strands. Rolo closed his eyes and leaned into it, finding security and adoration in the brotherly ruffling and the way Lelouch's fingers intertwined with his locks.

"I just want to protect you like you protect me…" the boy mumbled quietly; eyes slowly opening as he looked up to stare at his brother. "If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do…"

The older male stopped, but kept his fingers tangled in brown hair. "You would be able to handle yourself just fine. Especially without your Geass," Lelouch said, gripping both of Rolo's tiny arms in his hands and looking him in the eyes. "We both know how dangerous yours is. I mean it when I say don't use it unless you absolutely have to."

"When it comes to you, I absolutely have to," Rolo tried. "You're everything to me, brother…"

Lelouch's lips tightened for a moment and then he sighed, shaking his head at the boy. "You can't depend on me like that; you need to be able to…" the taller male trailed off and narrowed his amethyst orbs, staring into Rolo's dogged eyes as he realized that he needed to take a different approach. "I know you don't trust the Knights to always be able to protect me, but you can trust Suzaku."

"He's the one I trust the least," Rolo spat inordinately, a sudden strength of bitterness building up in the back of his throat. He had the matter-of-fact sound back in his voice now; the soft tone from earlier gone with the wind. "I even trust him less than Anya and Gino. He's too kind and fucking patriotic; all about the people. He'd sacrifice you in a heartbeat if it means the people are safe. Let me be there… _please_," he wholeheartedly pleaded, causing Lelouch to click his tongue, obviously irritated.

Lelouch seemingly wasn't taking anymore bullshit because he squeezed Rolo hard enough to provoke a grimace from the other. "This conversation is over, Rolo. You can come along, but you are not allowed to use your Geass and that's final." He let go and brushed past the boy, starting for the door. "I'll be just fine with Suzaku there. I don't need you stopping your goddamn heart to protect me."

Rolo watched him walk off before retorting, "It's only for a few seconds!"

Lelouch, his hand on the door knob, stopped and glared over his shoulder. "Rolo Lamperouge."

Familiar with the firm tone in his brother's voice, the boy looked down in defeat and was soon left alone in the meeting room, suddenly missing the hand that ruffled his hair earlier and so many times before that.

* * *

Suzaku stared at himself in the mirror with his arms up in the air and a raised eyebrow, feeling C.C.'s wandering hands straighten up the clothing where it wrinkled. He felt a bit awkward wearing the Black Knights uniform as he was a Knight of the Rounds, not a Military-Brit, and this wasn't his normal attire, but Lelouch had a plan; and Suzaku firsthand witnessed the gleam in his childhood friend's eyes as he explained his proposal. Lelouch meant business and there was no way these Reiss soldiers would stand a chance.

C.C. was in her own Black Knight's getup, but she stood out against everyone else; unlike him, she didn't have the black jacket. Her uniform was sleeveless and high-collared with a gold trim and a silver Black Knights symbol upon her chest. The lower end of it split down into four long pieces that nearly touched the floor and a red sash wrapped around her hips. Cladding her hands were long black gloves with a gold trim on the red bands of her arms, and her white and gold high-heeled boots went above her knee.

Suzaku took note in the fact that if C.C. had not been wearing her white boy shorts underneath, he probably would have seen her underwear. He wouldn't have shuddered at that thought if the pretty green-haired witch wasn't old enough to be his great-great-great-great-great-great (a million times great) ancestor.

The woman stared at herself and the brunet in the mirror before sighing heavily. "Well. I'm surprised," she said, regarding Suzaku's reflection.

"What about?"

"You don't look very pale."

"Pale…?" Suzaku inquired, turning to leave the bathroom.

C.C. followed in his wake. "Yeah. Pale. _Nervous_."

The two left Suzaku's room of the mansion and started down the long corridor.

"I feel there's no need to be," the male murmured in response. "There's been countless of times when Lelouch's life was in my hands and I've never failed to protect it. This is no different."

"Oh, but it is…"

Suzaku's mouth twisted. "Yeah?"

C.C. nodded, walking along with the male's fast pace and looking only straight ahead instead of at him. "We don't know these people and in this plan Lelouch will not only be vulnerable, he'll be in as much danger as the rest of us. From what I've heard, these soldiers seem like civil people, but if we go to them as we are, there's a possibility that we'll make them feel threatened."

"Good," Suzaku replied hastily. "Keep them at bay with fear. Lelouch knows what he's doing."

"No, I don't think he does this time around…"

The emerald-eyed male suddenly picked up his pace and spun on his heel, blocking C.C. with his body and causing the woman to freeze, almost colliding with the taller one in the process. She was shorter and had to look up at him; there was an evident frown formed with his lips and his orbs were dismal. It was obvious that he was distraught.

"C.C., you're one of the few who knows Lelouch. Really knows him," he said in a surprisingly soft tone. "And I can't believe that you doubt him at such a crucial time."

"I don't doubt him," the witch whispered. "I doubt his plan. How do you know they'll be threatened and stay back? They just may be threatened enough to try and fight."

"And how do you know their mission isn't to eliminate our king?"

C.C. eyed him for a moment before her gold eyes flickered away in frustration. "I don't."

"Then the best course of action is to have him hidden and work things out from there." Suzaku turned back around and continued walking, C.C. trailing him like a shadow. They didn't speak for the rest of the time until they eventually stopped at the doorway of furthest room of the corridor; Lelouch's sleeping quarters. The two silently shared a glance before parting ways without a word, C.C. leaving Suzaku by the door and making her way downstairs to go make sure everyone else was ready.

The brunet didn't even knock, he just opened the door without warning; something that had become a routine for him now. As soon as he slid into the room and closed the door behind him, Lelouch came walking out of the adjacent bathroom in the same Black Knight attire as Suzaku, his mask and cap in hand. He didn't seem startle by Suzaku at all and regarded him with a kind smile.

"Did you do it…?" Suzaku asked softly.

Lelouch dropped his smile. "No, I didn't."

"What? Why not?" Suzaku nearly shouted, making Lelouch gesture for him to lower his voice. "It's what you want, isn't it? If you use your Geass to order Rolo to forget his own power, he won't use it. And what if he decides to use it when we go out there? He could ruin everything and put us at risk….put YOU at risk!"

"You too, now…?" Lelouch tilted his head to the side unenthusiastically and stared at Suzaku with an unfazed gaze, eyes unblinking and lips taut in a frown. "Rolo, C.C….and now you, Kururugi; unlike the rest of the Knights, the three of you are just absolutely distressed."

Suzaku shook his head a bit too quickly. "I-I'm not distressed…" And he silently cursed himself for stuttering like that. He hadn't meant to, but it was something that he couldn't help around Lelouch. Sometimes he would bite his own tongue or his words would slip (and it sadly wasn't rare for both to happen at the same time). To sum it all up, he merely just lost his poise around the raven-haired male, but it was only when they were alone and that's because the guy made him edgy for reasons he was embarrassed to mention much less think about.

"Says the one who just stuttered and looks rather queasy," Lelouch purred.

The brunet tried to recompose himself and growled. "Lelouch, this is a serious matter…"

Lelouch stared at him in silence with a raised eyebrow for almost ten painful seconds and Suzaku could have sworn his stomach turned more and more with each passing second.

"Extra queasy."

"Lelouch…" Suzaku groaned.

"I'm playing," The emperor said with a little smile, walking up to the Japanese boy. He wrapped an arm around Suzaku's neck and threaded his fingers into the mass of curly brown locks, pulling him forward so that his lips were up to his ears. The Knight could practically feel Lelouch's warm breath as he whispered, "trust me. "

"I do trust you."

The raven pulled back to look Suzaku in the eyes; lips tight, features hard and expression suddenly extremely serious. "Then why do you seem so off? You're not giving off the same feeling you did in the meeting room."

"C.C.-"

Lelouch let go of his knight, brushing a finger against his cheek before heading for the door. "She's being pessimistic because she's concerned and I understand that. We're facing unknown threats going to meet out there with them, but there's really no other choice. Yes, we don't know as much about these people as we do the titans. However that can't stop us from acting. Don't worry about what she says."

"Then Rolo..." Suzaku murmured. And it was genuine just as his mention of C.C. was. He wasn't trying to find holes in Lelouch's plan; in fact, he didn't want to, but these things had to be recognized because even Lelouch was wrong at times. Maybe this wasn't the best course of action and Suzaku wasn't sure if this was him thinking for himself or C.C.'s brainwashing, but usually her hunches were correct. And she did have a point of scaring them into a fight, a fight nobody wanted to have. Suzaku wanted this to be a peaceful as everyone else did, but Rolo… Rolo was unstable and everyone, especially Lelouch knew it. The boy's past had broken him into a million pieces of loneliness and now that he's no longer alone, now that he has something; he'll protect that something no matter what.

The amethyst-eyed king seemingly staring at the door before him as if lost in thought. Then in a low voice that sounded surprisingly and terribly uncertain, he said, "He'll be fine."

* * *

Much to Rolo's relief, they tried to keep everything on the downlow; this meant using an average, rundown horse carriage in which everyone piled into, dressed in their similar Black Knight clothing including Lelouch. C.C. sat in the front to drive the carriage with Gino beside her for safety precautions and were fortunate enough to be ignored (for the most part) by the villagers. Rolo supposed that, to them, they looked like a simple group of military men passing by in a carriage. Nobody knew that their Emperor and the Knights of the Round were hidden under these masks; and it was probably for the best that they didn't. It would be less worrying on their part.

During the entire ride to the outermost wall, Sakura, Rolo couldn't help but stare at his brother, at Lelouch, from the shelter of the mask that shielded his eyes. All he could do was think negatively and if this was the last time he'd ever see his beloved brother again, he wanted to take in as much memory of his appearance as possible. And every now and then, his eyes flickered and he glared daggers at Suzaku from his corner of the carriage.

And Suzaku saw him. Every time. The guy never failed to catch him in the act. Not that it mattered. Rolo didn't glare for attention, he did it just to do it and if Suzaku noticed then good riddance. But the Japanese male didn't return any sort of ugly or smug look the boy gave him. He seemed to have pity in his eyes instead; his emerald eyes glistened with guilt as if he wanted to apologize, wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Lelouch and the other Knights were here and he understood he didn't need to cause a scene. And somehow, that disgusted Rolo. It made him sick that it was now that Suzaku was being the bigger man; it was when he didn't want him to be. Because it was Suzaku's growing up that pushed them towards this situation they found themselves in.

This extremely dangerous situation.

Rolo may have vouched against this because Lelouch was tired and exhausted, but now it was much more than that. It became something else the moment he started crying during their meeting. It became a debate over putting Lelouch's life on the line.

And that's why Rolo felt so spiteful at the moment; so heated and angry. And so scared.

But his fears tripled without warning and he stomach did a 360 and dropped as soon as he felt the carriage stop. Everyone tensed up, even (in the corner of Rolo's peripheral vision) Lelouch did. There were two gentle knocks coming from the front of the carriage and Suzaku was the first to speak up before pushing open the back door. "Don't show any fear, okay everyone? No matter what."

Rolo regarded his older brother. "Lelouch…?"

The raven-haired male nodded in agreement. "Suzaku's right. Stay strong, my Knights."

And even with the masks hiding their faces, all the Knights, Lelouch and Rolo braced themselves, putting on tough exteriors as they filed out after Suzaku one at a time.

The small boy was the last to step out of the carriage and as soon as he did, he was greeted by another carriage before them and a small troop of soldiers with odd uniforms consisting of a tanned, short jacket underneath a green cape, white pants, black straps and black knee high boots. To his surprise, none of them were armed, at least not from what could be seen. There was a tall blond man with an odd haircut in the front, seemingly giving off the impression that he was the leader. Beside him was a shorter, black-haired man with an undercut hairstyle, then there was a petite male with a round face, blue eyes and near shoulder-length hair. And to the other side of the taller one was a woman with her brown hair tied back, grinning a bit madly and eyes wide behind her glasses.

Rolo could have sworn that woman was taking in everything that he was as a human being and he felt rather violated when she so much as glanced his way. Slowly, he inched to Suzaku's side who stood in the front. If things came down to it, he knew what he had to do and it was better if he were as close to the enemy as he could get. Suzaku noticed this and was caught off guard by it, assuming he would stand by Lelouch in the back instead, but shook it off before turning his attention where it should always be; on his enemies.

"Announce yourselves," the brown-haired knight declared as highly as he could manage.

The shorter male and the taller blond exchanged glances before the supposed leader spoke, "Good evening. We were told your name is Emperor Lelouch Vi Britannia. My name is Erwin Smith, commander of the Survey Corps from Reiss," he gestured to the shorter man next to him. "This is captain Levi Ackerman," to the woman, "this is squad leader Hanji Zoe," and to the small blond, "and this is cadet Armin Arlert. We come unarmed with hopes to make this meeting peaceful and to ask for your help."

Suzaku appeared taken aback by how smoothly this was already going and Rolo was tempted to scoot close and smack him back to his senses. But that would ruin the plan; Suzaku was a standin for Lelouch and he was sure that if he backhanded their emperor across the face, these people would most certainly become suspicious if not break into laughter. But they gave off an aura of seriousness.

"Your presence does not guarantee my support; where is your monarchy?" Suzaku inquired with just enough venom, pride and arrogance that made Rolo's skin crawl. If the knight was acting, he had to admit that he was doing a pretty damn good job cause even Rolo was felt intimidated and Suzaku was on his side.

The shorter male- Levi spoke up this time, "sorry to burst your bubble, Lelouch Vi Shittania, but she's not here with us. Look, all we need is help. The titans are becoming a major problem and we're just trying to protect our people, but our military isn't the best nor is our weaponry, supplies, resources- you fucking name it. We're in deep shit and you know what? We're all human fucking beings trying to beat the fuckers out here. Why don't you just help us? You get allies; it's a win-win situation here."

Seething with anger ever since the guy started talking, Rolo stepped forward and spat, "you know what? You've got an ugly mouth there and you should watch it. It's us you're asking for help, yet you're speaking out of turn and with such foul language! You seem confident so if you think you're funny, you're not. We're not laughing, frankly, it's pissing me off."

The woman on the side, Hanji, chimed in, "that's how he normally speaks! He's naturally an asshole, there's no need to take it personally, kiddo!"

Levi snorted.

As much as he despised being called kid or anything of the like, Rolo composed his fury and ignored her, speaking bitterly and firmly. "You should still apologize...that was rather rude of you."

"Rolo…" Suzaku breathed in a husky tone.

"No, just SHUT UP, SUZAKU!" Rolo countered in a loud shout, a shout so powerful that he felt instant relief as if the weight that had been piling on left him, falling from his shoulders. He felt like no words would ever be able to describe the calm that washed over him after that; how nice it was for his stomach unknot.

But then it knotted back up again as soon as he heard a woman shriek.

"Suzaku…!" Hanji cried almost ecstatically and the Japanese boy flinched, becoming alert and aware of his identity being blown. "Suzaku Kururugi! As in, THE Suzaku Kururugi, Knight of Zero! It's nice to finally place your name with your face…..oh. Actually, I can't see your face with that mask on. May I?" She asked in a dreamy voice.

Erwin Smith's nice expression dropped and Levi Ackerman scowled hard.

"Hold the fuck up. So you're not Emperor Lelouch Vi Britannia, are you?" The captain said through gritted teeth. "Where's your king, Suzaku Kuru-shitface? Decided not to bring him out? Is he hiding somewhere? Are you setting us up?"

"We're not setting you up-"

"Bullshit."

"We're not!" Rolo cried out in a broken voice.

Hanji sighed. "I wanted to be friends with Suzaku guys, come on!"

Erwin Smith held up an arm, feeling Levi and the rest of his team tense up. "There's no need for this to go downhill… where is your Emperor? We don't plan on hurting him."

"Don't tell them….!" Rolo mumbled under his breath.

"….." Suzaku was at a loss of words and now both groups were inching back away from each other, scanning the surrounding area as if checking for some sort of ambush. The Knights were backing up towards Lelouch in a protective stance and Rolo was panicking.

He understood the situation; Lelouch wasn't saying anything because he wasn't sure of what to do. Rolo had screwed up in a way that even his amazingly intelligent brother couldn't correct. The Survey Corps were weary of them now after having caught them in a lie that they couldn't counter and Rolo saw in the corner of his eye that Gino wasn't planning on making it better. He had leaped from his spot beside C.C. on the carriage and pulled out his pocket swords, the sharp blades springing free as soon as he whipped them out.

Time seemed to slow down to Rolo.

He already saw Gino's path; the guy was going for the commander first. Hanji Zoe already had that Armin kid in her grasp and she was yanking him back. Levi Ackerman wasn't budging from Erwin Smith's side, he looked like he was getting into combat stance.

Things were going to hell already and this is what he didn't want. He didn't want an violence, any sort of fight that could put Lelouch at risk, but he knew his brother was protected. Suzaku, Anya and the rest of the Knights already had him sheltered and now it was up to Rolo to fix the mess he created. He's the one who gave away Suzaku's identity, he's the one who ruined the plan, but he wasn't going to let it end messy.

He clutched his chest tightly and braced himself, running forward blindly.

* * *

**A/N: And that's as far as I've gotten! Unless you guys really like this (let me know in a review!) then I'll probably be more focused on my AATNA fanfic (And All The Nights After) because I am enjoying all the ideas I'm getting for that story x3 anyway, thanks for reading!**


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